36th Annual Winternationals
East Bay Raceway Park
February 14, 2012
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O'Neal Takes Back to Back Wins Tuesday Night at East Bay Raceway Park



by James Essex
TAMPA, FL (February 14, 2012) - Don O'Neal of Martinsville, IN captured $5,000 tonight with his second win at the DART Winternationals East Bay Raceway Park on Tuesday Night. O'Neal took command of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned event and stormed on for his 14th career win at the 1/3 mile oval. John Blankenship of Williamson, WV passed Austin Hubbard of Seaford, DE on the final lap to place second. Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN and Steve Francis of Ashland, KY rounded out the top five.

The race got off to rough start with a false start. Then O'Neal and Shannon Babb, who started on the front row alongside each other, got together heading into turn number one on the second attempt to start the race. Babb suffered substantial damage, ending his night. In Victory Lane, O'Neal was subdued after the contact with Babb. "Man I hated that, Shannon and I are friends. I got in there and we got together, I drove it in wide-open. I think I blistered my tires again tonight as well. My hat's off again to this MasterSbilt crew, they've built a great race car, and thanks to Jay Dickens for building us such a stout engine. We are off to a great start this season," said the 47-year-old, who captured his 21st win in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competition.



O'Neal led all 25 laps, but a heated battle lasted the entire distance for second. All eyes were on Blankenship and Hubbard. Those two swapped the second spot four times during the race with Blankenship in the Coal America's Energy, Cornett Racing Engines, Rocket Chassis going to the high-side, passing Hubbard coming off of turn number two on the final lap to capture the runner-up spot. Hubbard wound up third in the Tim Logan Racing, Trinity Logistics, Rocket Chassis Chevrolet.

O'Neal, who is fourth all-time in LOLMDS series wins, rode the cushion for most of the race and at times it appeared that both Blankenship and Hubbard were gaining ground on him. Once O'Neal reached traffic he was able to take command of the race. "Our goal is to win the Lucas Oil Series title this year and even though this doesn't count toward the season-long points we are going to be ready for Friday and Saturday for sure."

Bloomquist took fourth in his Hawkeye Trucking, Roush-Yates Racing Engines, Bloomquist Race Cars Ford. Francis grabbed fifth in the Valvoline, Clements Racing Engines, Barry Wright Race Cars Chevrolet.



Completing the top ten were Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, IL; Randy Korte of Highland, IL; Duke Whiseant of Texarkana, AR; Dillan White of Crofton, KY; and Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA.

In preliminary action, O'Neal was the Red Buck Cigars Fast Qualifier among the 43 entrants with a lap of 14.402 seconds. Heat races were won by O'Neal, Terry Casey, Shannon Babb, and John Blankenship. The B-main winners were Eric Jacobsen and Dillan White. The PRC Strawberry Dash was taken by Brandon Sheppard.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Tuesday Night, February 14, 2012
36th Annual DART Winternationals
East Bay Raceway Park - Tampa, FL

A-Main
1 1 71 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN $5,000
2 4 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
3 8 11 Austin Hubbard Seaford, DE
4 5 0 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN
5 7 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
6 10 28 Dennis Erb Jr Carpentersville, IL
7 11 81X Randy Korte Highland, IL
8 6 A1 Duke Whiseant Texarkana, TX
9 18 54 Dillon White Crofton, KY
10 13 49 Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
11 14 21d Dan Stone Thompson, PA
12 25 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC
13 12 41 Josh McGuire Ashland, KY
14 17 5 Eric Jacobsen Seacliff Beach, CA
15 20 16 Justin Rattliff Campbellsville, KY
16 22 4h Chad Hollenbeck Kingsley, PA
17 15 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY
18 16 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
19 19 31 Scott Creel Franklinton, LA
20 3 42 Terry Casey New London, WI
21 21 81 Scott James Bright, IN
22 24 11t Tyler Reddick Corning, CA
23 26 b5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL
24 23 81jr Jason Riggs Harrisburg, IL
25 9 777 Jared Landers Batesville, AR
26 2 18 Shannon Babb Moweaqua, IL

Race Statistics
Entrants: 43
Lap Leaders: Don O'Neal (Laps 1 - 25)
Caution Flags: Shannon Babb (Lap 1); Jared Landers (Lap 1); Eric Wells (Lap 7)
Time of Race: 18 minutes 16 seconds


First Heat (8 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Don O'Neal, Scott Bloomquist, Jared Landers, Jonathan Davenport, Eric Jacobsen, Scott James, Ray Cook, Morgan Bagley, Chris Brown, Terry Naugle, Robert Geiger-DNS

Second Heat (8 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Terry Casey, Steve Francis, Randy Korte, Eric Wells, Scott Creel, Jason Riggs, Jackie Nosbisch, Danny Mitchell, Leon Henderson, Mark Andersen

Third Heat (8 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Shannon Babb, Duke Whiseant, Dennis Erb, Jr., Daniel Stone, Justin Rattliff, Chad Stapleton, Chad Hollenbeck, James O'Hara, Todd Frank, Shane Cottle

Fourth Heat (8 Laps- Top 4 Advance): John Blankenship, Austin Hubbard, Josh McGuire, Bobby Pierce, Dillan White, Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Reddick, Travis Varnadore, Victor Lee, Doug Blashe

First B-Main (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Eric Jacobsen, Scott Creel, Scott James, Jason Riggs, Ray Cook, Danny Mitchell, Morgan Bagley, Jackie Nosbisch, Leon Henderson, Chris Brown, Mark Andersen

Second B-Main (10 Laps- Top 4 Advance): Dillan White, Justin Rattliff, Chad Hollenbeck, Tyler Reddick, Brandon Sheppard, Victor Lee, Shelby Miles, James O'Hara, Doug Blashe, Chad Stapleton, Todd Frank, Travis Varnadore

Strawberry Dash (Laps- Winner Advances): Brandon Sheppard, Victor Lee, Shelby Miles, Doug Blashe, James O'Hara

Fast Time Group A: Don O'Neal 14.402
Fast Time Group B: Shannon Babb 14.654